adjacent apartments
by iseesparksfly
Summary: Austin and Dez get some new neighbours / or Austin helps the girl next door find a colander. One shot.


**A/N: This didn't turn out how I wanted it to at all, but ah well. **

"Austin Moon, get off your ass and tidy this room!"

The words echoed around the apartment. No one would believe that the owner of that voice was not a frustrated mother, but in fact the best friend to the reprimendee and was dressed in bright jeans with suspenders, coupled with a novelty apron saying _'why you all you in my grill?'_. The redhead didn't even do any cooking and the kitchen was a sparse wasteland, however he liked to use the apron for everyday tasks such as cleaning, doing work or yelling at his best friend.

Said best friend was lying on the sofa strumming his guitar but looked up from the strings when he hears the yell from across the living room. He rolled his eyes and reluctantly placed his guitar in the corner of the room and sees that Dez is standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips and looking condescendingly at him.

Dez was no one near responsible but there were the rare occasions when he would put his mature hat on _(very rare occasions)._ Unfortunately for Austin, Dez would be strict about the cleanliness of the apartment, which was really not his strong point

"We really have to spend today tidying the apartment because since _someone _came back from tour, it has been a tip." Dez says pointedly, trying to make the blond feel guilty.

Austin can't think of anything he would dislike as much but it was true that since he had returned from his world tour their place hadn't been exactly the tidiest of places.

"You can start with the bathroom" Dez decides when Austin doesn't reply and starts to walk away to get his zebra striped rubber gloves.

"But I thought we were going to play the Zalien's video game and finally get to the next stage..." Austin calls after him cunningly, using something he knows Dez won't be able to resist. Sure enough Dez freezes and turn slowly.

"We can always do that another time." He answers robotically and Austin can tell he's trying to restrain himself.

"Dude, we've almost finished that level. C'mon!"Austin knows that Dez is starting to waver and crosses his fingers.

"Fine," Dez sighs, pretending to be annoyed, and jumps onto the sofa, failing to conceal his excitement, as Austin grabs the controllers from the coffee table.

"But we're going through the chores timetable thoroughly afterwards." Dez finishes before ripping off the apron and throwing it on the floor.

Austin rolls his eyes. They both know that isn't going to happen.

"Remind me why I live with you again?" Austin asks sarcastically

"Because I'm delightful company." Dez replies, his eyes set on the TV screen as the main menu appears

"No seriously."

"You may be an international pop star but rent isn't cheap." Dez jokes, but is then distracted when the game finally loads.

This was a lie. They both knew that Austin clearly had more than enough money to get his own place, far better than the accommodation he currently shared with his best friend. However they both also knew that Austin gets lonely easily so he probably wouldn't last a week alone. Besides what's better than sharing a place with your best friend? Nothing. Well at least that's what Austin thinks. His parents on the other hand think that he'll eventually have to move on and get his own place to settle down in _(in other words they want him to find a girlfriend instead of making water bombs with his best friend when he's not on tour)._

It's not like he hasn't tried to find a girlfriend, but what with touring around the world a lot of the time he rarely gets the chance to breathe, let alone get to know someone. But now he's on a break from tour for at least 5 months and he finally gets a chance to sit down. That is what he planned at least, however his parents have other plans. They want Moons Mattress Kingdom's Prince to finally find his Princess during this hiatus whereas the Prince himself just wants to sleep for the next half a year or so. Is that so wrong?

According to everyone in the world the answer is yes. Dez says that he can't just sleep the time away and so does Dez's girlfriend, Carrie, who says that maybe he should find think about settling down, while the press are just happy to report on any aspect of his love life for as long as possible _(or lack of love life)_. Even 12 year old Nelson from the floor below their apartment says that he needs to get a girlfriend already or he will die alone. He's 23, not 80, he reassures himself. He's sure there are lots of people his age out there who aren't hounded like he is.

For now he's totally cool with sharing an apartment with his best friend. He doesn't have to worry about being yelled at for not tidying up after himself_ (sometimes Dez goes a bit neat-clean crazy though_) , his amp can be cranked as loud as he wants and the kitchen isn't used unless a plate is required for whatever take away they were having that night. Why would he want to change that?

Unsurprisingly the living room is an absolute tip just one day after he returned home from tour and Austin is ecstatic to sleep in a real bed that he won't fall out of at 2am because of bumps in the road. He had really missed the apartment while on tour because, although he loved the bus and touring, it could get pretty cramped sometimes and there were people everywhere he turned. Sometimes he just wanted to sleep without hearing the shouts of indignation from his band playing monopoly long into the night. Unfortunately the game was mysteriously lost mid-way through the tour and nobody had a clue where it had gone _(that is except a certain blond singer who may or may not have thrown it out of the window after a particularly rowdy game had kept him up for the entire night)_. He had come to the conclusion that they were all nocturnal because they would be up into the early morning and still be full of energy for the next day, while Austin on the other hand took about half an hour to even consider leaving the comfort of the bed. Although it wasn't exactly comfortable, it was warm and everywhere else was cold so the choice wasn't exactly a hard one. When he eventually did drag himself out of the cave of warmth and blankets he would instantly regret it because the rest of the day would be loud. Really loud. He though Dez was crazy, but after his drummer managed to get his hands on a megaphone he found himself wiling for all the batteries in the world to magically stop working forever _(he would be prepared to live without a phone if the fake police siren from the megaphone was never ever heard again)._ For weeks he could hear sirens in his head and jumped out of his skin whenever he saw flashing lights _(which wasn't exactly good when on a tour, doing performances with lots of strobe lights and loud noises). _

So yes, to say he liked having his own _(shared)_ place was an understatement and a half. Dez had kept the place looking tidy _(as in you could actually see the carpet)_ while Austin was gone but that was promptly ruined as soon as Austin walked through the door bearing many suitcases and a selection of water guns he had been given from fans while on tour.

2 weeks later the apartment is a complete mess and although Dez is trying to sort things out he eventually gives up and the two young adults are sitting on the sofa desperately trying to kill the zombie alien that is intent on eating their brains.

They may only be playing a video game but the battle cries and shouts of _'you want brains?! Bring it!"_ from Austin and _"My teachers say I have straw for brains, so good luck!"_ from an oblivious Dez could deafen. They've both battered their controllers while trying to throw various punches at the groaning corpses and they're so close to killing them once and for all. In the corner of the screen they can see its life bar being drained and they lean forward in anticipation. It will be completely empty in a matter of seconds. 3, 2, 1...and then the screen goes blank and the sound cuts off.

The two boys are completely frozen and their eyes are still transfixed on the screen, hoping it will switch on again in a second. They only drag their eyes away from the box when they hear a cough from their right and they see a girl standing next to the screen holding the TV plug and swinging it back and forth boredly. For a second everyone is silent and then the words cut through the air like a knife.

"Why would you do that!? Why!?" and Dez starts rolling around the floor in pure agony because they were so close to completing the level they had been working tirelessly on for the last few days. Austin is still in a state of shock and only just manages to realise that there is a random girl standing in his apartment and he has no clue who it is. He'd ask but he decides maybe it's best to focus on calming down the red head who is currently screaming in anguish. It takes a while, but eventually Dez's screams settle into a muffled crying and he's sitting on the sofa staring at the girl, who is still holding the power cord, suspiciously. She looks completely bored, as if she is wasting her time being there.

Austin waits for her to start talking and sighs in exasperation as she just looks around the room curiously.

"Who the hell are you?" Austin finally splutters, making the girl stop looking at the ticking clock and look at him as if it was odd he would want to know.

"I'm Trish." She says in a tone that suggested he was being the stupid one in this situation.

Austin honestly can't believe what is happening right now, and grits his teeth to avoid saying anything he'll regret.

"Okay _Trish,_ how did you get into our apartment and why are you here?" He asks as calmly as possible

"I walked through the door-" Trish started

"Ghost!" Burst out Dez from his position curled up in the corner of the couch where he was surveying Trish with a scared expression.

"No you fruitcake. Your door was unlocked, so when you didn't answer it I just walked in."

Austin had three thoughts cross his mind at the same time. Firstly what exactly was wrong with fruitcakes which made them be used as an insult. Secondly, why was she insulting them if she had randomly walked into _their _home and lastly _'crap I knew I forgot to do something'_.

He should probably be thankful that the only person who had gotten in to their home was a tiny girl around their age instead of a burglar, but then again the glare she's shooting Dez right now was pretty terrifying.

"Why are you here?" Austin asked, really hoping that she would just leave because honestly she was making him slightly uncomfortable and scared.

She rolls her eyes and acts like it's an inconvenience for her to answer them.

"I just moved in next door with my friend and she wanted me to introduce myself to the neighbours. So, hi neighbours."

"Well your social skills evidently don't need any work." Austin commented dryly.

Trish nodded seriously at him and suddenly dropped the lead for the TV that she was still holding which reminded Austin that she had ruined their chances of killing the Zombie once and for all.

"Where exactly does it say that you introduce yourself by crushing people's dreams?" Austin continues, his eyebrows raised in question. Trish waves her hand flippantly as if it's no big deal.

"You didn't even notice I was here, you were too engrossed in that game of yours, so I had to do something." She explained matter of factly.

Austin tried to smile as politely as possible although this girl seemed completely oblivious.

"Well it was great to meet you but Dez and I have some important things to deal now so-"

"Can you leave now?"Austin elbowed Dez in the gut and in response the red head dived into the sofa cushions dramatically, clutching at his side in agony.

Trish watched with a disgusted expression as she watched Dez howling in agony while Austin just shook his head.

"What he meant to say was- and you're walking away." Austin tried to say but Trish had turned her back on the blond and had started to walk around the room, picking up various trinkets that were around while the two boys looked on unbelievably (_Dez had stopped his charade at this point)._

For a second they silently watch the curly haired girl but then the two boys turn to each other in panic.

"How do we get rid of her?" Dez whispers worriedly, evidently still a bit shaken

"Well we can't be rude-" Austin started

"Yes. Yes we can! Just give her a pat on the head and throw a treat outside so she'll leave." Dez said excitedly and snapped his fingers as if he's just had an amazing idea.

"That would work great is she was a dog."

"But she did growl at me..."

"She's human I'm sure. Scary? Yes, but still human." Austin cut him off.

Dez sighed disgruntledly and pouted, but a second later the expression was replaced with one of thought.

"Austin, do you still have your Platinum Music Award?"

"Of course. Why?" Austin asked, sitting up from where he was slumped on the sofa, watching warily as Trish wandered into the kitchen.

"Well maybe if we distract her with something shiny she'll get disoriented and-"

"She's not a magpie either!"

So far their brainstorming isn't going too well and they are no closer to getting rid of their unwanted visitor.

The thought of calling the police crosses his mind, but then he realises how awkward it would be if they saw her around the building_. 'Good morning, how are you? Awful weather we're having and oh by the way sorry I got you arrested.'_ was not a greeting that he ever wanted to use.

"We could get her roommate to pick her up?" Dez suggests after there is another break in conversation.

"Dez she looks about 20, not 2"

"Well, I don't see you making any useful suggestions." Dez responds snottily and turns his back on his best friend. And again the only sound is Trish harshly placing things back onto shelves.

When her gaze lands on Austin's prized acoustic guitar in the corner and she starts to strum it harshly Austin sighs in defeat and also panic. He stands up and walks toward the door, hoping that she wouldn't have broken all the strings by the time he got back.

"Okay, well I'm just going to go get her roommate." He says, because he doesn't see any other choice, before opening the door and stepping into the hallway. He just really wants her to leave.

He hears the distant cry of "Don't leave me alone with her!" before the door swings shut behind him and the lock clicks.

* * *

Feeling slightly guilty for leaving his best friend alone to deal with the unwanted visitor he walks the short trip down the hallway to the apartment that he knew had been vacant for quite some time and knocks on the door. He then realised that he had no idea what this person would be like, and for a moment cringed at the thought of her being another Trish.

He waited nervously for the door to be opened and he could hear light footsteps on the other side of the door. There's a crash of what sounds like numerous boxes falling over and a heavy sigh from the person inside. There must be boxes by the door too because he hears cardboard dragging across the floor directly in front of the door. At that point Austin feels bad that he's making her go through so much effort just to open the door, but then lock is starting to click and he decides he should push those thoughts away and decided what he's actually going to say.

Would it be rude to ask her to remove her friend from his premises straight away, or should he make an attempt at small talk first?

Then the door is open a crack and he can see the hair of a small brunette _(he can't see her face because she's trying to move a box with her foot that is restricted the full opening of the door). _

"Give me a second!" She calls and through the gap he can see her trying to push a tower of boxes to the right but she seems to be failing miserably. Her hair is falling out of the pony tail she's haphazardly placed on her head so he still can't see her face properly, but he decides that he should probably give her a hand or she'll be stuck in the apartment forever. He manages to squeeze through the opening of the door _(not without almost crushing his ribs)_ and finds himself standing among a sea of boxes.

At a glance he can see inside some of them and it seems that a lot of them are filled with very thick and daunting looking books while others contain various kitchen utensils _(Austin couldn't even begin to explain what half of them would be used for_). He's busy deciding whether the tools are used for cooking or torture but then she screams and his thoughts are cut off _(granted it didn't last too long because a second later he cuts it off by placing his hands on her lips in panic)._For a moment they're just staring at each other _(her with fear in her eyes, and him panicking because this is not what he calls making a good impression)_ and he notices that when she's not screaming this girl is actually really pretty. But then there's a bang from the apartment upstairs and they both look up to the ceiling in confusion.

"Ally, are you okay?" A male voice calls through from above and Austin lifts his eyebrows up in surprise. He glances down at the girl in front of him _(he knows her name now)_ and the fear in her eyes has completely disappeared and instead she just looks annoyed. Before Austin can remove his hand so she can respond, the voice from upstairs starts up again.

"Ally, are you there? What's going on?" The voice is now starting to sound worried and they can hear the owner pacing anxiously. Austin can now clearly see that the annoyance in her eyes has increased considerably and she even goes on to roll her eyes. Evidently she is irritated with this man.

"Ally, I'm coming over, okay?" the voice says.

Ally's eyes widen and she finally grabs Austin's hand that's prohibiting her from speaking and pulls it away from her face.

"No, no! Dallas, I'm fine, I promise!" She calls back desperately, trying to sound as perky as possible, in an attempt to prevent the meddling man from upstairs from coming downstairs. There's no response and they both hear the slam of the door which indicates that he's on his way. She groans loudly and glares at the blond stranger in front of her.

"Well look what you've done now!" she says, trying to sound threatening, but the pout on her face kind of ruins the effect.

"You're the one who screamed!" Austin retorts, raising his eyebrows slightly and she at least has the decency to looks a little embarrassed.

"Well you scared me." she tries to say confidently, but both of them know her excuse is terribly weak.

"But you opened the door for me." Austin says. Call him crazy, but he was under the impression that this was the universal signal for _come in._

"That doesn't mean you can just walk in." she says, obviously not thinking it was and her tone suggesting that it was obvious as she folds her arms against her chest and glares at him.

"Oh, uh sorry...do you want me to go back outside and wait for you to notice me?" Austin asks, seeing that she's probably not going to back down on this and he really just want to go home and get her roommate out.

"Yes please." she answers cheerfully and he just stares perplexed at the small lady in front of him before climbing _(rather ungracefully) _through the boxes and out of the door again, closing it behind him. He rolls his eyes and knocks on the door.

There's silence and then he knocks again.

"I'll be right there." she calls from inside, even though he knows that she's directly next to the door and is just being difficult.

"Who is it?" sings her cheery voice from inside the apartment a moment later, and he can tell that she's doing this on purpose.

"Oh c'mon!" he exclaims, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation and he hears a soft giggle from inside before the lock clicks and the door is partially open once again, this time with her peeping through the crack.

"Oh hello there! This is so unexpected." she says brightly, though he can hear the sarcasm underlying her voice. Austin decides to play along and hides his smile with some difficulty.

"Hello person I've never seen before in my life! Could I please come into your apartment, that I've never been into before, and talk to you, which I have also never done-"

"Okay, I get it!" she laughs and grabs his wrist, dragging him inside before he can carry on with his charade.

He's now back in the position he started at, surrounded by boxes, while she is in front of him waiting expectantly. When he doesn't say anything _(he's trying to get over how unnecessary the last 5 minutes of his life were) _she decides to question him.

"So, who are you?" she asks, and Austin seems to have snapped out of his daydream.

"Oh, right, I'm Austin"

"Ally," She replies _(but he already knows because he heard the guy from upstairs say it)_ "So Austin, did you come here for anything in particular? Because I kind of have a lot of work to do." She says sighing at the state of her new apartment.

Austin is standing pretty awkwardly among the boxes and watches her place her hands on her hips and look around with annoyance at all the mess.

"I could...uh...give you a hand if you want?" Austin blurts out nervously, digging his hands in his pockets and trying to not meet her eye _(he had seemingly forgotten about poor Dez back at their apartment) _

"Um, that's okay." she says, considering it really wasn't fair to make someone she'd just met do her work for her, and there was the fact that she only knew his first name.

"It's no trouble, honestly." Okay now he sounds a little bit desperate. now she knows he has nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon.

She's apprehensive but eventually shrugs and smiles at him genuinely and he grins back.

"Sure that would be great, thanks." And she continues to smile widely at him before retying her hair and hopping over a box simultaneously. Meanwhile Austin is a little bit frozen because this girl has a very nice smile and it may have taken his breath away. It's stupid because he's seen a lot of pretty girls on tour and they all smile at him with their perfectly straightened teeth and glossy lips. They're star struck by him and their smiles reflect their admiration for _him (so why does he prefer the smile of the random girl that he doesn't even know and doesn't seem to think he's anything too special.) _

Okay, maybe he should stop thinking about it so hard because she's started talking and he missed the whole thing. She's staring at him expectantly while he has no idea what she wanted.

"Sorry, what?" Austin questions after snapping out of his trance.

She rolls her eyes good naturedly and repeats what she said.

"Can you pass me the box with the colander in it?"

That didn't really help much because Austin has absolutely no clue what a colander is. Did she mean calendar? He doesn't see any of those either as he looks down at the boxes at his feet in confusion.

Seeing his lost expression, Ally laughs again _(she does that a lot, he notices)_ and waves her hand at a group of boxes near his left foot.

"It should be one of those boxes." She says and watches as Austin crouches next the boxes and starts pulling out various tools, in the hope that one of them was a colander.

"That's a whisk." she points out helpfully, trying not to find his cluelessness adorable, and he scoffs in an attempt to pretend that he totally knew that _(they both knew he totally didn't)_.

This leads on to "that's a potato peeler." and then "that's an orange juicer." and lastly "that's a fork. Are you even trying anymore?" at which point he shrugs innocently while she rolls her eyes.

After another few minutes searching Ally clicks her fingers, as if she just remembered something.

"I just remembered that we don't actually have a colander anymore," she says, laughing nervously "oops."

"You have got to be kidding me." Austin says, standing up from his crouching position and giving her an exasperated look. She smiles innocently back at him and he resists the urge to 'aw' out loud at her face _(but that would be really weird, so he stops himself). _

Austin is about to make another comment when there's a knock on the door and they both freeze. He realises that it must be the shouting man from upstairs and evidently so does Ally because she suddenly looks semi-annoyed.

"Who even is that guy?" Austin asks curiously as she starts to clamber her way to the door and the knocking continues.

"It's Dallas. We're just work colleagues," she starts, almost tripping over a pile of books as she talks "although he doesn't seem to understand the word colleagues." she finishes, somewhat exasperatedly.

Austin guesses it's a classic 'boy and girl meet at work', 'boy likes girl' and 'girl has no romantic interest in boy whatsoever' situation and decides he should probably let her handle it on her own.

"What, no. I can't face him alone. You have to come with me!" she whispers as he starts to walk away from the door and he turns to stare at her incredulously.

"You are a grown woman, Ally." He says sternly, not unlike a scolding father, "you can do this by yourself." another knock sounds from outside.

But then she starts to pout and he realises that he desperately needs to not meet her eye or he's done for. He stares adamantly at the door frame behind her but then she makes a little whine and his eyes flicker to her face. He sighs exaggeratedly _(and curses his lack of willpower)_ before moving to stand next to her with his arms across his chest.

"It is so unnecessary for me to be here." he mutters under his breath and she hits him lightly on the stomach with one hand, telling him to be quiet, and grabs the door handle with the other.

"Just smile and nod and he'll be gone in no time." she says before swinging the door open and gritting her teeth into what is probably supposed to be a smile but looks more like a grimace of pain.

Austin isn't quite sure what he was expecting of Dallas but a tall, reasonably good looking and well dressed man around his age was not even close to any of his predictions.

"Oh thank goodness you're okay." Dallas sighs loudly in relief when he see's Ally and pulls her into a bone crushing hug, while Austin just watches in amusement at Ally's panicked expression.

"Help. Me." she mouths desperately, almost feeling her ribs breaking, but he just grins obliviously. When Dallas finally pulls away from the disgruntled girl she is finally able to breathe and takes a large step away from the visitor.

"What was all that screaming about?" Dallas asks worriedly, taking a step forward, as if he's going to take her hand and seemingly not acknowledging Austin standing only centimetres away.

"Uh, well, I, Uh," Ally starts, looking to find an excuse, but then again she doesn't really need one because her alibi is standing right next to her.

"Austin sneaked up behind me and scared me." She finally says, gesturing to the blond next to her and for the first time Dallas actually notices him. He looks at him suspiciously before turning back to Ally and asking,

"Who's Austin?" as if he isn't even there. Austin decides that he'll answer for her, but then realises that he's not quite sure what he is to her. Does he count as a friend even though they'd know each other for approximately 10 minutes? _(she would probably say that he had broken into her house, so he's guessing not). _

"I'm her-"Austin starts, not really sure what he's going to say.

"Boyfriend!" Ally butts in, laughing nervously and grabbing Austin's hand in the process. For a second he's in a bit of shock because there's now a small, soft hand gripping his tightly _(and he actually likes it) _

His eyes widen and he turns to looks at her, a silent _'what are you doing?' _written in his eyes, while she just smiles up at him and tilts her head, as if telling him to just go with it _(maybe Dallas would finally get the hint that she was in no way romantically interested). _They stare at one another for a moment, as if they're having a conversation, before he makes an inaudible sigh and turns back to the guy waiting at the door who, after seeing that exchange, looked like he had just swallowed a cactus and was about to be sick at the same time.

"Yep, that's me. Her boyfriend." He says as convincingly as possible (_which isn't very convincing considering he says boyfriend way too loudly to sound natural). _

Dallas frowns and narrows his eyes at the couple, choosing to avoid looking at their still clasped hands and deciding whether he believed them or not.

"Oh, so how did you guys meet?" He asks and although it is a perfectly casual question there is a hint of interrogation in his voice and he crosses his arms across his chest while he waits for a reply.

"We met at- " Austin starts, fully intending to say a concert or a football match or even a supermarket but Ally seems to have her own ideas.

"A shuffle board tournament!" she interrupts and Austin turns to her and gives her an odd look, because young people aren't often inclined to play shuffleboard and now they both sound incredibly boring. She stares brightly back at him and he can almost imagine her giving herself a high five for that _'amazing'_ cover story _(how he know this he really doesn't know). _

He tears his thoughts away from imaging her being a dork because he realises he was staring and glances up at the man in the door frame, who still doesn't look too convinced _(and is also glaring at him)_ and smiles as sincerely as possible.

"So, how long have you been a couple?" Dallas asks _(although it seems to physically pain him to say those words)_ and it officially starts to feel like an interrogation.

After a moment of no one speaking Austin wraps his arm around Ally's waist and leans in to bury his face in her shoulder _(because normal couples hug about as much as they breathe right? Especially in the middle of conversations). _

"How long have you been working together?" he mutters into her hair and he doesn't even notice that her hair smells of fruits and it feels soft and silky _(he does)._

"5 months." she whispers back after recovering from the fact that her neighbour had just completely invaded her personal space and she's kind of, a little, completely okay with that. For a second she wraps her arm around him too, but then there's a cough from the doorway and they remember that there's another (_rather impatient) _person in their presence.

"6 months." Austin says, keeping his arm around her, making sure that Dallas is acutely aware that he's known Ally for longer than him _(well actually he's known her for about half an hour, but that's not important)._

Dallas doesn't say anything and Ally just nods enthusiastically as if to confirm that this was in fact true and for a second they're all silent again and they hope that he'll now leave. But then Dallas decides to restart his interrogation, despite the fact that they obviously look like a believable couple.

Now Austin's getting a bit annoyed that Dallas is asking so many questions about their _(fake)_ relationship, it's none of his business if he's met her parents _('of course, they love him.' says Ally),_ or where their first date was _('a carnival, and I won her a stuffed panda.' Austin says proudly 'actually I'm pretty sure that I won it for you.' Ally protests._) or who is best a cooking _('definitely not Austin. He doesn't know the difference between a colander and a whisk.' says Ally, and for once she's telling the truth). _

"Don't you have to be back at your apartment soon." Austin says, interrupting Dallas making a query about their favourite marsupials. .

Dallas looks visibly put out _(which is the point really) _and he seems to look to Ally as if she would say something about him staying. No such luck because Ally desperately wants him to leave too. The couple _(the way he's got his arm around her really makes it believable) _stare pointedly at the young man in front of them who looks like he's about to argue his case, but then realises that it's a little odd to refuse to leave, and is border line harassment. So with a disheartened sigh he gives a feeble wave and shuffles his feet down the hallway towards the stairs. Watching him leave, Ally almost feels sorry for him, but then remembers that he had once stolen a half eaten sandwich from her office bin, so maybe he's just a little too creepy.

After the door is slammed there is silence inside the apartment before Austin frowns and turns accusingly towards Ally, who braces herself because she does feel bad for making him be her fake boyfriend.

"A shuffle board tournament!?" Austin exclaims loudly, sounding incredibly put out while Ally is caught off guard for a second.

"Why is that the thing you seem most bothered by?" She finally manages to say.  
Austin places his hand on her shoulder and in complete seriousness says

"Only losers play shuffle board Ally," as if talking to a child, "He thinks we're losers." he sighs dramatically, collapsing onto the sofa, that had just been placed in the middle of the room, and clutching his heart _(Dez was definitely an influence, good or bad he's not sure). _

Ally rolls her eyes at the blond and places herself on the part of the sofa that he's not inhabiting _(Austin places his feet on her lap almost immediately)_ and lets out a short laugh. Austin stops his charade and looks up to see why she's laughing. She notices his gaze and just supplies the answer of "well maybe he'll leave me alone now." and Austin grins in triumph.

"Thanks for being my boyfriend." Ally says quietly, looking down at her lap and trying not to meet his eye.

"Anytime." Austin says sincerely, with more confidence than he really has, and he feels a sense of victory when her cheeks turn red.

"What type of a person randomly shows up at someone's apartment and just loiters about, anyway?" Austin comments to himself, _(after her cheeks had returned to their normal colour and he had stopped staring)_ sounding perfectly serious.

"Yes. That's really odd." Ally says sarcastically, staring pointedly at the tangle of limbs that is currently lying on her sofa. Austin shrugs exaggeratedly, as if it wasn't his fault.

"Why did you even come here anyway?" she continues curiously.

"I was just being a welcoming neighbour!" Austin says, an offended expression gracing on his face, but it is then replaced with a smile when he sees her rolls her eyes at him.

"How considerate of you," she deadpans "So why did you really come?"

Austin sighs and sits up _(he may have only just remembered that he came he for a reason)._

"I came to ask you to if you could please come and collect your roommate from my apartment." He says (_only about an hour or so later than he intended to) _

"You know she's 20, not 2 right?" Ally asks, and Austin has a sense of déjà vu and huffs childishly. Why did everyone have to be so sarcastic about that?

"Wait," Ally froze "You left Trish alone in your apartment?" she sounds genuinely worried about this and Austin frowns.

"No, she's with my best friend and roommate, Dez." He says but he then stops and stands up abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Ally asks confusedly because he's just standing in the middle of her bare apartment, not moving.

"He's with my best friend and roommate, Dez." he repeats again, slowly, as if that will explain everything. Seeing her perplexed expression he just sighs and grabs her hand, pulling her up from the couch, and walking her towards the door quickly.

"Why are you in such a rush? You said she's with Dez" she says, letting herself be dragged along.

"Yes, and that's what worries me." Austin answers grimly and swings the door open. They're about to walk out when Ally stops suddenly, pulling him back because their hands are still connected.

"I just need to turn the dishwasher off, and move the boxes out of the way and lock the door-"

"We don't have time for that, Ally!" Austin says, as if she's being crazy to lock up her brand new apartment. "Your scary roommate is alone with my scared-of-everything roommate, who knows what could happen. We don't have time to waste." _(neither of them mention that they had wasted quite a bit of time looking for cooking utensils and pretending to be in a relationship.) _

After another 5 minutes, in which they argue about whether they need the dishwasher to finish its cycle before they leave_ (Austin just unplugs it in the end, much to the annoyance of the short brunette), _they are finally out of the apartment and she's locked the door and triple checked it _(which he feels is pretty unnecessary considering his apartment is barely 5 metres away). _

When Austin swings open his apartment door he isn't really sure what he's expecting to see (_maybe a trail of blood leading to the corpse of his longest friend, or a pile of smashed instruments scattered on the floor). _What he is shocked to actually see is an intact apartment, that looks visibly cleaner than previously, and two figures sitting on the sofa furiously attack their gaming controllers. For a second the only sound is the clicking of buttons.

"Well this looks like a proper emergency." Ally finally says, trying not to laugh at Austin's dumbfounded expression.

By the time Dez and Trish finally look up from the screen Austin is out of his state of shock _(mostly) _and Dez actually pouts when Ally says that she's come to take Trish home. Apparently they were _so close _to breaking the record for most Zalien's killed in the space of 3 minutes.

So Ally says that Trish can stay for a little longer (_it sounds ridiculously like a play date)_ and the sounds of gunshots _(from Trish and Dez, who managed to break the record) _and laughing _(from Austin and Ally, who seem to have a lot in common) _fill the apartment for the rest of the day.

That is until Trish is the one forcing Ally to leave _(there was a chance that Ally really wanted to talk to Austin a lot more and that she'd never leave). _

Austin walks them to the door and shakes the hand of Trish _(because he may still be a bit scared of her) _and Dez waves madly at her back as she walks out of the apartment. Ally puts her hand out for him to shake too _(because maybe he just isn't a hugger, which is surprising considering he had hugged her so willingly at her apartment) _but he just shakes his head and grabs her hand, pulling her into a hug. He's decides that he likes hugging her and tightens his grip around her waist slightly, and _(after she realises what's happening)_ she does the same with her arms thrown around his neck. Then reluctantly they let go and Ally gives a small wave before returning to her apartment and Austin didn't watch her leave at all _(maybe he did)_.

Then the next day Trish and Ally unpack the remaining boxes, much to the disgust of Trish, who complains whole heartedly the whole time.

"Why can't you get your boyfriend to help you?" she groans, as she lifts another box onto the kitchen counter, almost making Ally drop the one that she was carrying into the living room.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ally calls to her adamantly _(Trish didn't need to know that for a brief moment in time he was). _

"But you want him to be." Trish almost sings and then Ally returns to the kitchen and throws a dishcloth at her best friends face.

Trish's laughter, muffled by the cloth, is the only sound for a moment, but then there's a knock on the door. Ally prays that it won't be Dallas again because as much as he appreciates him informing her about this apartment in the first place, that doesn't mean he can show up all the time.

She walks to the door_ (the boxes are gone, so it isn't an obstacle course anymore) _and throws it open. She sighs in relief when she sees Austin standing in the hallway with his hands behind his back and smiling at her and Ally has to fight down the butterflies she gets from him coming to see her _(what is she, 12?). _

He doesn't say anything for a second and then he brings his hands from behind his back. Ally laughs at what he's got in his hand.

"Some people bring flowers," Austin says "but I thought you'd find this more useful." And then he hands her what he was holding and she grins at him. Only he would give a girl something like this for a present. He'd given her a colander.

"I still don't know what it does." He says, shrugging and digging his hands into his pockets casually.

"I'll have to show you some time." Ally answers, trying to sound as casual as possible too _(although it doesn't really work)._

"It's a date." He winks and then he's walking the long journey _(of 5 metres)_ back to his apartment , and this time Ally doesn't watch his leave either _(of course she does)_

And honestly their cooking date, in which they managed to get spaghetti almost everywhere, was far better than any carnival date could ever be. And her parents really did love him because he's impossible charming. And then finally they're in a relationship that far exceeds 5 months; try the rest of their lives.

**A/N: Feel free to let me know what you guys think :)**


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